


The Blue Moon Smile

by kenji1104



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crimson Flower Route, F/M, Felix and Annette are professors of Garreg Mach, Post-Crimson Flower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21901222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenji1104/pseuds/kenji1104
Summary: Felix is known as the Professor from Hell who never smiles due to the things that he witnessed in his entire life. Yet, not a lot of people in Garreg Mach truly knows him besides his name and contribution to the war.He was infamous for not smiling or for being a harsh professor but little did they know that there's someone in the world who could make his mouth curl upwards.My FelAnnie prompt for Nenalata, it being "Felix was only seen smiling around Annette's presence" in a non-Azure Moon setting.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 3
Kudos: 38
Collections: Felannie Secret Santa Gifts of 2019





	The Blue Moon Smile

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nenalata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nenalata/gifts).



> I wrote a letter for you at the end Nenalata!
> 
> Actually finished this story since last two weeks ago and has since resumed writing my regular stories (though were hampered due to work and our house move).
> 
> Anyway, hope you and the others enjoy this!

Garreg Mach Monastery. Having been built to stand the test of time, it has proven such a feat for centuries… until the newly crowned Emperor Edelgard launched a surprise siege upon its mighty walls in the Imperial year of 1181 in the month of the Lone Moon. It was the first time in history that the walls of Garreg Mach, finally crumbled and fell.

A masterstroke from Edelgard and her first victory against the Church of Seiros, it was the first major battle that occured in a war that covered all of Fodlan. For Edelgard and her allies, it was a revolution to rid Fodlan of its corrupt and decadent system of Crests and nobility. For her detractors, it was simply a bid to gain total dominance of Fodlan to satisfy her hunger for power.

Yet, for all the claims made against her, the slander she received… Edelgard paid no heed and in those five years of war, she cemented her victory with the destruction of the Leicester Alliance, Kingdom of Faerghus and the Church of Seiros, uniting all of Fodlan under the banner of the Adrestian Empire once again.

But… this isn’t her story. Rather, this is a story of a man, broken to pieces by the ebb of time only to be mended and pasted back. But like that of a mirror, he can never be the same again, he is simply just a shattered reflection of what he used to be.

His name is Felix Hugo Fraldarius, that name meant nothing to him now after he promptly disowned and renounced his noble heritage, tossing it aside as if it was just a burden for him all this time. To him and everyone else, he is simply a man named Felix.

Most people who didn’t personally know him but knew of his former nobility thought that he did so to disconnect himself from any possible setback against House Fraldarius since his father, Rodrigue was a staunch loyalist to the now late King Dimitri. The very few who knew him knows that he did so a long time ago after he joined Edelgard’s cause or perhaps even before that.

“Professor…”

The professor… it's been a long time since he’s seen him… Last he heard, the professor--

“Professor Felix!”

Felix snapped out of his reverie after he lost himself to the azure skies hanging above the training grounds, he’s often done this while the brats under his tutelage occupied the training grounds and proceeded with their martial training.

Felix’ ever present scowl returned after it had faded away for a short moment of time.

“What is it?” He coolly asked at the male student. “Beru, was it?”

He still wasn’t used to the names of the new students that enrolled in this school year, not that it was his concern for now as he was still gauging out what the new batch of students could do now that they live in a time of peace, peace won from a bloody war and destruction that he took part of.

The sixteen year old brunette with short hair nodded, from how he spoke or how he acted, Felix could surmised he never touched a weapon prior to his admittance in Garreg Mach. He was weak for now at least in Felix’ eyes.

“Bertrude broke Owen’s nose.” Beru said with concern, he and Felix glanced at the female student holding a lance while looking down at her defeated sparring partner who was holding his broken nose, bleeding profusely as it dripped into the age old stone floors.

“Again?” Felix asked, growling in irritation. He could recall that particular student kept getting his nose bleed during practical sessions.

“So, what do you want me to do then?” Felix asked gruffly, folding his arms under his chest. The former Fraldarius heir already expected what will escape from his student’s lips, he just wanted to know if Beru remembered what he told him yesterday.

Beru hesitated to what he’ll say next to the rather infamous professor in the academy, he was the most feared staff member in Garreg Mach ever since he set foot in it.

“I was thinking if we could uhh…” Beru stammered, flinching at Felix’ increasingly sharp glare akin to that of razor sharp daggers or the edge of his favored Wo Dao sword if there’s such a better comparison.

“Escort him to the infirmary?” Beru finished with a nervous smile in a poor attempt to assuage his professor’s glare.

There was an unsettling silence for a moment as sweat dropped down from the student’s brow. Such silence was broken when Felix sighed in exasperation.

“How many times must I ask all of you fools, do I look like your damn caretaker?”

Even the students who were training paused as their blood froze upon hearing the all so terrifying tone of their professor.

“N-No… it's just that—“

It’s coming, is what the other students thought as if acting like Beru have resigned to his fate as Felix’ personal verbal punching bag in these sessions.

“Then have Owen walk his way through the infirmary. He can still walk and see can’t he?” Felix began, the tone of his voice was high but not to the point of shouting yet it still bore the same impact as that of one to his students’ ears. Beru cowered at Felix’ words, he was one of the few students who tried to get into the infamous professor’s good side yet failed horribly as Felix could detect anyone trying to brown nose him.

The students trying to curry favor to him were the ones he disliked most, he surmised they were children of influential people be it nobility or not who think they can schmooze anyone to manipulate their intended outcome. Felix hated those, it reminded him so much of his time in Faerghus when people of high and low birth tried to flatter them with words and gifts including but not limited to gifts, high praises and marriage proposals…

Marriage proposals… Felix thought little of such things even after some of his comrades in Black Eagle Strike Force have moved on and settled down like the professor did in Derdriu after the war with his wife--

Felix snapped out of his own thoughts again, not noticing that Beru has already helped Owen to the infirmary after verbally reprimanding him, the bell tolled which both acts like the signal of the end of the current class and the time for the students to move on to the next one.

For Felix’ students in his martial arts class, this was a heaven sent signal from the Goddess herself since it would free them from the demonic professor they were being subjected to take class from. They heard that the previous professor the preceded Felix and taught him was known by the moniker of Ashen Demon but Felix is developing his own reputation as the Professor from Hell among the students.

The so-called Professor from Hell watched as his students breathed a collective sigh of relief, feeling like a huge weight has been cast off their shoulders as they lined up to return the training weapons back into their racks. The students were so eager to leave the training grounds that they forgot one crucial detail in Felix’ class…

“Just where do you think all of you are going?” Felix broke his silence, the blood running in the veins of his students froze like ice at his cold voice like an intense blizzard.

All of them were reluctant to answer as they slowly turned their heads around to see Felix with his arms folded below his chest and with such a dark cold glare at them.

“Well?”

“P-Professor… w-we’re going to t-the n-next c-class…” The female student, Bertrude took the unfortunate role of responding just as she was opening the gates leading out of the training grounds, her hand was still in the large knob of one side of the gate.

“I can see that.” Felix snorted at the weak response.  _ ‘Pathetic.’  _ He thought at how easily his students can be cowed by him.

“Yet you fools keep on forgetting something.” Felix followed with another snarky comment.

When no one seemed to know what Felix was referring to, probably forgetting it momentarily due to their more prevailing fear of Felix, the professor growled irritably.

One of Felix’ unique rules in his time as a professor was that everytime his class near its end at the training grounds, his students are required to perform a set number of push-ups before they are even allowed to leave otherwise he would force them even if their entire body wears out trying to do so.

While his students deemed such an activity barbarically harsh, Felix wanted to promote their bodies to be used to the stress and also make them more physically fit, those things they can apply in real life once they graduate that could save their lives should the need for it arrives.

“B-But professor… n-next class i-is…”

“Twenty push-ups.” Felix didn’t care what they have to say.

“But professor--”

“TWENTY PUSH-UPS. Don’t make me repeat myself again.” Felix harshly repeated with a scowl.

There are no sounds of protests that escaped the lips of his students again afterwards, only moans and wails of pain and exhaustion were heard in the training grounds.

* * *

“Good afternoon class, today we’re here to discuss how to defend yourself from dark magi--” An upbeat and cheerful voice of a woman spoke as she entered the classroom carrying a small stack of books in her arms, setting them down on a table nearby, unaware of the missing occupants of the table and chairs in the classroom as she went in.

Professor Annette, formerly Annette Fantine Dominic, paused when she was how many seats were empty in her classroom, they were only a handful of students who were in attendance. Annette frowned at the massive number of absentees in her class.

“Where’s everyone?” She asked with a frown replacing the bubbly smile that once graced her facial features earlier.

The few remaining students glanced at each other before a female student answered for all of them.

“Professor Annette, apologies but we don’t know where the others are… we have different classes prior to this.” The female student politely responded.

Annette’s frown deepened. “Don’t tell me they’re cutting this class collectively?” Annette murmured to herself not knowing she spoke it out loud in her thoughts. Her only students within the classroom mentally shook their heads, everyone knew that the magic teaching professor was universally loved by all the students and staff alike in Garreg Mach owing to her bubbly and helpful nature that motivates even those who aren’t interested in learning magic in her class.

The non-magic oriented students were considerably being taught by her on how to properly defend themselves on the magic spells she taught towards those with magical affinity yet despite their obvious fondness to Annette, they were mostly absent.

Annette was wondering what could have happened to the absentees.

“Does anyone know what class your classmates were taking before thi--”

The orange-haired professor immediately remembered what class her mysterious absentees were taking prior to hers. Just before she can think of it further, her tardy students arrived in class, all groaning and moaning in pain and exhaustion from what they were subjected to.

Annette could only imagine what her poor students went through especially those who struggled to do such a simple action of sitting down on the chair.

“A-Apologies… Professor Felix forced us to do some exercise before he let us go.” Bertrude groaned out upon sitting down at her chair, it was as if she knew that Annette has been looking for them based on the expression she has of now.

“I don’t think I can write properly today.” One of the tardy students complained as he struggled to write his name on a scrap of parchment, his hands trembling from exhaustion.

Annette frowned at the sorry state that most of her students were in, this wasn’t the first time such a situation happened to her students and frankly, she was getting tired of seeing them like so. She knew there was only thing she can do.

Balling her hands into fists, Annette began to take steps leading out of her classroom as her students watched.

“I’ll have a word with him.” Annette told her students before storming her way out of the classroom and towards the training grounds, if there is one person who could pacify the Professor from Hell, it is her.

* * *

Felix struck the wooden training dummy in the training grounds with a heavily dented helmet upon its ‘head’ using one of the training swords. 

With each swing, Felix’ frustration grew resulting in heavier but swift swings that threatened to destroy the straw-filled training dummy. The source of his frustration were the events that has transpired in the course of his life, remembering his past and the succeeding events, most memories angered him greatly.

Such memories involves his brother, Glenn who died for a prince, a prince turned king that Felix helped defeat which invalidated Glenn’s sacrifice. Yet, Felix didn’t care much about such invalidation. For him, it was Faerghus’ foolish inclination to adhere to their outdated values that killed Glenn.

Strafing at his side to swing at the right side of the dummy, Felix remembered his father.

_ “He died like a true knight.” _

Those words that escaped Rodrigue’s lips when he heard of Glenn’s death in Duscur, the moment he released such words was the moment Felix’ perspective in life changed. Rodrigue sounded more proud that his eldest son died for lofty ideals instead of being struck by grief from his death, the fact that Rodrigue cared more on the well-being of Dimitri afterwards further soured Felix’ opinion on his father, Dimitri and Faerghus in general.

His goddess-forsaken last words irked Felix upon delivering the mortal wound that sealed Rodrigue’s fate in Arianrhod, those words that were reserved for a king who wasn’t there to hear it. Felix remembered watching and waiting as his father died from his wounds, hoping to at least hear something from Rodrigue pertaining to him yet there was nothing, only his blasted wish for victory to a king he cared more than his own sons.

With a loud angry cry at the flood of memories, Felix spun around to deliver a strong swing to the dummy’s head, further damaging the heavily dented helmet it once wore as it was sent rolling on the ground away from where it used to be.

Breathing heavily and sweating profusely either from the physical activity or from his emotions, Felix relaxed his body and slightly loosened his hold on the sword, feeling the slight calluses on the palm of his sword hand. For a brief moment, Felix hallucinated blood on his right hand when he looked at it. Blood that belonged to his father and Dimitri who, despite his own reservations against them, felt guilty for their demise.

It felt so contradictory… he detested what the boar turned out to be and how his father cared more for him yet the attachment he felt for them...

“Professor!”

Felix snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing an all-too familiar voice, he turned around to see his fellow professor nearly stomping her way towards him with puffed up cheeks to signify her ire towards him, ire that he doesn’t know was warranted.

“Anne.” Felix responded by calling her out by her nickname which immediately got the reaction of her getting flustered.

“I told you don’t call me that when we’re at work!” Annette shouted at him with her cheeks tinted nearly the same shade of red as Sylvain’s hair.

Annette considered herself lucky that only Felix and her were the only occupants of the training grounds, Felix remained callous at her concern of being called in such a way in Garreg Mach.

“Don’t you have a class to teach?” Felix asked his fellow former student and now his fellow colleague.

Annette frowned at him, nearly mirroring his constant scowl yet she looked cute with her cheeks puffed up at him.

“I do and most of them were late because of you!”

“And you saw fit to delay class just to talk to me?” Felix asked with raised eyebrows, Annette could swear there was a hint of teasing in his voice which only served to stoke the flames in her.

“Every time students from your class comes to mine, they’re always battered and exhausted! While their tardiness is an issue, their condition is much more important! They’re too weak to even lift a book when they come to my class!” Annette berated Felix without pause, giving the latter no chance to retort back.

Felix only scoffed as an answer but Annette’s blue eyes demanded for answers and Felix knew she won’t accept nonchalance as an answer.

“I’m training them for what may happen in the future like how I was trained and ready for it.” Felix replied. “It's not my fault if they were too pampered or soft prior to their enrolment here.” He continued without remorse.

This didn’t assuage Annette any bit.

“I understand what you’re trying to do here but at least take it easy towards them! They just got here!” Annette reasoned, hands on both sides of her waist.

“You’re telling me to go easy on them out of petty concern?” Felix questioned.

Her glare hardened at his cold and hard stare.

“I’m telling you to be more considerate at least! Go easy on them then slowly make it more advance for them instead of taking them by surprise on how you teach them right now!”

“No.”

“No?” Annette repeated his word of refusal.

Felix stared coolly at her. “I won’t. I refuse. That clear enough for you?”

Annette gritted her teeth. “Oh you are the worst!” She yelled at him.

“Not the first time you said so.”

Annette had enough, noticing that she wasted enough time trying to convince Felix who is like a rock in the middle of the road when he’s adamant on something, she remembered her obligations to teach her class and therefore began storming her way out of the training grounds as Felix watched her.

“Anne.”

She stopped midway into opening the gates yet she didn’t glance to look at him, probably too angry to even do so probably because of what had just happened and how he called her like such again.

“Dinner outside tonight?”

The former noblewoman simply huffed a “Humph!” before she slammed the gates closed behind her to signify her current feelings towards Felix.

Unknown to her, Felix was smiling the whole time after she turned her back on him, a hand on one of his pockets, his fingers fiddling on a simple gold ring that fits the finger size of the professor who just left him alone.

Despite all that happened, Annette had every intention to go tonight and Felix knew that as he looked forward at the end of the day. With a smile that no one else can see, Felix returned to practicing with a sword.

**Author's Note:**

> Letter to you, my unlucky prompter:
> 
> Hello Nena! Surprise! I got your prompt and the moment I received it, I knew I was gonna enjoy writing it.  
> Now it wasn’t entirely easy as I had to make it less predictably fluffy so I ended up going to the kinda comedic route in the end after seasoning it with some of my angsty spice (hey you didn’t call me the angst king of the discord group for nothing) since Felix and Annette were indeed happy in Garreg Mach in the Crimson Flower ending despite Felix maintaining his asshole-ish tendencies.  
> So I did indeed capitalize on the mean bastard professor route for Felix (quite enjoyed writing him that way as well) while still being haunted by his memories of Rodrigue and Dimitri, and his source of joy is none other than Annette in such a setting.  
> Anyway, I’ve rambled on too much. I hope you enjoyed this fic I wrote for you, my friend! Hope it fuels your…. Errr… bamboozlement!  
> Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!
> 
> *insert elephant sticker here*
> 
> Yours truly,  
> kenji1104


End file.
